Category Archives: 4G

AT&T in Mexico will begin providing 4G LTE and Wi-Fi service throughout the Mexico City Metro subway system. The Metro is considered the world’s 4th largest subway system.

In Mexico City, AT&T is going underground. Literally.

In a few weeks, AT&T in Mexico will begin building a fiber-fed network to provide 4G LTE and Wi-Fi service throughout the massive Mexico City Metro subway system.

We’ll offer connectivity in the Metro system’s 195 stations and along all 12 Metro lines, which fan out across the sprawling capital of 20 million people. The system’s 350 trains travel through tunnels dipping to depths nearly 100 feet below the surface.

“Today, the connections in the Metro system are not very good or there’s no connection at all,” said Carlos Sanchez, AT&T in Mexico chief technology officer. Sanchez is overseeing the 3-year project.

“We came here in 2015 to deploy a 4G LTE network that will become an engine for innovation, social development and economic growth,” he said. “Our Mexico network above ground now reaches 78 million people. But in Mexico City, a sizable portion of the population uses the Metro.”

With 125 miles of tunnels, this Metro is considered the world’s 4th largest subway system and the largest in Latin America.

On an average day, 5.5 million people ride the Metro. And it’s not unusual for riders to be aboard between 1 and 2 hours each day.

Once completed, the Metro network will offer free Wi-Fi to all riders on 11 of the 12 lines. AT&T customers will have 4G LTE service across the entire system.

“They’re going to have the same high-quality network, the same capabilities that they have on the surface,” Sanchez said. “If you spend an hour in the subway every day, that hour — from a customer perception standpoint — is going to change dramatically.”

Sanchez, who grew up in Venezuela and has worked in 6 countries for AT&T, including the U.S., started working for AT&T in Mexico in early 2015. A year ago, he and many others began talking to Mexico City and Metro officials about the underground 4G LTE network.

On March 9, Mexico City’s mayor, Dr. Miguel Angel Mancera Espinosa, executives of AT&T in Mexico and the head of the Metro system signed the agreement launching the project.

Nearly 1,000 AT&T employees and contractors will start installing network equipment in the stations and tunnels in May, Sanchez predicts. He describes the configuration as a “distributed cell site.”

We’ll install fiber in the tunnels. Larger, network gear will be housed in the stations. Radio equipment will connect to antennas in the tunnels and on the trains.

The teams will first tackle Metro Lines 7, 3 and 1, which Sanchez described as the toughest. Line 7 is the deepest, running some 100 feet below the surface. And Lines 3 and 1 have the largest number of riders, with about 700,000 people a day on each line.

What also makes the entire project more daunting is that AT&T crews will have to work when the trains are idle – from around midnight to 4 a.m.

AT&T crews in the tunnels will undergo extensive safety checks every night coming and going. Before leaving, crews will have to thoroughly clean and check their workspaces within the tunnels to help ensure the trains run safely.

“We’ll probably end up with about 3 hours of work a night,” Sanchez said. “I’m hoping after working on the first line, we’ll learn a lot, and then we can adjust our practices to speed things up.”

Despite the challenges, Sanchez seems almost unfazed.

“Providing service to 5.5 million people a day is like covering a whole other city, only this one is underground,” he said. “But here, density is part of the deal. And while this is a special project, it’s just part of what we’re doing here. 2017 is a year when we’ll start deploying IoT projects and more.

“We had a competitive disadvantage that we’ve been able to reduce significantly,” said Sanchez, snapping his fingers. “We move fast, speedy. We’re the small carrier here, so keeping the pace (snap, snap) is important. There’s a lot of the right chemistry on our team. That’s been kind of the secret sauce for reaching the point where we are now.”

Allsea’s Pioneering Spirit

With gross tonnage measuring in at 403,342 GT and a lifting capacity of 48,000 tons, the Pioneering Spirit is by far world’s largest crane vessel. Its length measures 382 meters – same as the Empire State Building in height.

Equipped with such immense lifting power, it is set to take on the world’s most challenging lifting projects out in the seas. Recently the UK government approved the decommissioning of Shell’s 24,000 ton oil rig known as the Brent Delta. Located 115 miles off the coast in the North Sea, the environment is guaranteed to be harsh and the waves to be rough. Shell considered cutting the platform into small manageable blocks but with the Pioneering Spirit, it is now possible to carry out the operation with a single lift, keeping topside refurbishment costs economical.Pioneering Spirit will considerably reduce the amount of offshore work associated with platform installation and decommissioning, shifting the work onshore where it is safer and more cost effective.”

Allseas Group.

The Need For Connectivity

With such a monumental task, coordination with head office during the operation becomes absolutely critical. Holland, who is responsible for implementing the on-board network, researched on how they could make use of as many available connections for their sea-going operations as possible. Budget was not a concern for them; they could have relied solely on VSAT and spend tens of thousands of dollars. However, their goal was reliability and flexibility; they wanted to have a diversity of ways to maintain a connection. They came across Peplink and understood that our products are designed specifically for these situations.

Overview

Pioneering Spirit, the world’s largest ship needed a way to stay online at all times, whether it’s out in the ocean on a decommissioning project or moored by the shore. Having connectivity is crucial for the safety of the crew, amongst other things. So a solution where they can make use of all available connections is of paramount importance.

Solution

Benefits

● Staying online at all times because of the ability to prioritize and failover between all connections

● Capacity to provide further resilience with redundant SIM slots

● IP67 means the devices are able to withstand the elements out at sea

A Peplink Balance 710 forms the core and prioritizes its WAN connections as follows: Point-to-point Wi-Fi, 2x LTE/3G via MAX HD2 IP67, VSAT, and finally tethered data from an Iridium satellite phone. To maximize WAN diversity, one MAX HD2 IP67 is placed on each side of the vessel and are kept at over 300 meters apart to maximize the signal reception. This setup is designed to maintain a continuous connection, and is also configured to prioritize the most affordable WAN connections.

When the vessel is at shore, it will be connected to point-to-point Wi-Fi. When this becomes unavailable, it will fail-over to cellular network connections provided by the MAX HD2 IP67s. Once it leaves shore coverage, cellular networks will take over until they are out of reach of the cellular towers. At which point, VSAT takes over, with the Iridium satellite phone as an additional failover option.

The Peplink Advantage

The Balance’s flexibility made network installation and management quick and easy.”

Remco van den Heuvel, SL2A Group. Peplink Partner.

While the main reason for choosing Peplink is because of the ability to prioritize WAN connections and failover between them, there were other considerations at play. InControl 2 for example, offers up convenient cloud-based remote access and monitoring and powerful GPS tracking features. While not yet in use, the redundant SIM slot on the MAX HD2 is also another factor, offering the flexibility that Holland and team have been looking for. The fact that the MAX HD2 has an IP rating of 67 means that it is dust tight as well as being able to withstand submersion in 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes – perfect for the harsh seas. Peplink’s agile and persistent support left an impression with Holland – making good products is just half the battle. Keeping customers reassured is an ongoing effort, one that we commit to every day.
Proudly presented by Peplink partner SL2A-ICT B.V.

With InControl 2, we were able to keep a close eye on the installation process. The remote web admin access feature was very useful for fine-tuning network configurations.”

LANCOM Systems, the leading German manufacturer of networking solutions for business customers and the public sector, is expanding its portfolio of VPN routers with a new model for industrial environments. The LANCOM IAP-4G is a cellular router with an integrated multimode LTE modem for data rates up to 100 Mbps. The device comes with a dust-proof metal housing (IP 50 protection class) and supports an extended operational temperature range (-20 to +50 °C).

The IAP-4G is ideal for mobile data connections, for logistics applications, and for taking connectivity to automated systems, machines and monitoring devices without wired Internet connection. The integrated VPN functionality ensures secure networking between different sites and facilitates the integration of external service providers. The device has an integrated multimode LTE modem and is backwards compatible with UMTS, EDGE and GPRS (3G and 2G). Power is supplied optionally by either a mains adapter or PoE (IEEE 802 3af).

Five IPsec VPN channels with hardware acceleration are integrated into the router upon delivery (25 optional), and the highly secure IPsec VPN connections can be established over any cellular network. The LANCOM IAP-4G provides up to 16 securely isolated IP contexts with separate routing. This allows IP applications to operate between different networks while managing them on a single central router and, at the same time, keeping the different communication channels securely separated from one another. The integrated firewall provides the very latest security features such as stateful packet inspection, intrusion detection and DoS protection.

Like all LANCOM products, this cellular router is equipped with hardware that is dimensioned for the future. Updates to the LANCOM Operating System (LCOS) are available several times per year free of charge. They guarantee a long service life by keeping devices technically up-to-date, so maximizing investment protection.

The LANCOM IAP-4G is available now. The mounting kit LANCOM IAP Mount facilitates the installation of LANCOM IAP devices on top-hat rails or poles in harsh environments. A comprehensive line of 3G/4G antennas completes the portfolio.

LANCOM Systems background:

LANCOM Systems GmbH is the leading German manufacturer of reliable, innovative networking solutions for business customers. LANCOM’s two business units, VPN Network Connectivity and Wireless LAN, offer professional users secure, flexible infrastructure solutions for local-area and multi-site networks. The entire core product range is developed and manufactured in Germany. In addition, LANCOM also provides VPN solutions certified by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) for the protection of particularly sensitive networks and critical infrastructures (EPCIP) against cyber attacks. LANCOM Systems has its headquarters in Würselen near Aachen, Germany, and other offices are located throughout Europe. Customers include small and medium-sized enterprises, government agencies, institutions, and major corporations from Germany, Europe and increasingly worldwide.

Thales is leading the Fed4PMR project, which involves nine players including seven SMEs, to develop a future high-data-rate 4G/LTE communication network for security agencies and emergency services.

The 36-month project, coordinated by Thales, includes three operational demonstrations, the first scheduled for September 2016.

Fed4PMR is one of the official projects approved by the COFIS joint committee for the security sector under the PIA investments for the future programme.

Thales is driving advances in Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) with the Fed4PMR project, a laboratory for future secure high-data-rate 4G/LTE radiocommunications to meet the requirements of security agencies and emergency services and to allow for images, videos and data to be shared securely.

The ambition of the Fed4PMR project is to provide innovative responses to ensure the successful transition of voice-only communications to these next-generation mission-critical 4G/LTE systems, while guaranteeing the necessary network security and resilience.

PMR networks play a crucial role in protecting people and property. They offer specific mission-critical functionality such as group calls and guarantee high availability in emergency situations.

The goal of the Fed4PMR project is to define a unified broadband PMR system spanning everything from user terminals to network operation. The proposed solution will combine multiple types of access networks (dedicated networks, virtual mobile networks, temporary networks) in a single infrastructure. This infrastructure will be used to deliver multimedia-enabled PMR services, including real-time transmission of pictures and video, database lookups and other professional applications, to meet the needs of users conducting critical missions in difficult situations.

Thales has formed a consortium with seven SMEs (Air-Lynx, Archos, Eolane-Douarnenez, Expway, Ibelem, Silicom and Sysoco) and researchers at Pierre et Marie Curie University in Paris to develop the key technological building blocks for a demonstrator. This demonstrator will be officially unveiled at the end of the 36-month collaboration.

As project leader, Thales is in charge of integrating the various technologies to form a resilient and secure solution. It is also providing the multimedia-enabled PMR services to meet the requirements of mission-critical applications, such as group call and push-to-talk functionality. The SMEs in the consortium are an integral part of the LTE ecosystem. They will be responsible for sensitive components of the solution including the:

To prepare for future evolutions, researchers at Pierre et Marie Curie University will ensure that studies incorporate future 5G concepts. To validate the operational scenarios, mobile telephony operator SFR will make its 4G network available for tests to be performed in conjunction with the various dedicated networks.

In the world of mission-critical communications, the gradual shift to commercially available technologies and solutions such as 4G/LTE is having a radical impact on the traditional PMR ecosystem. The transition promises more responsive, more effective solutions for tomorrow’s security services, while drastically reducing hardware and systems costs. The project involves a number of real technological challenges, especially in terms of integrating networks, multimedia services and strong security components to ensure the highest levels of network availability and protection from the full range of cyberthreats addressed by the consortium.

The Fed4PMR project is part of the telecom sovereignty component of France’s new industrial regeneration policy. It is partly funded by the French authorities through the Public Investment Bank (BPI) and the PIA investments for the future programme.

“The professional radiocommunications market is undergoing a real revolution with the advent of 4G/LTE technology, marking a radical break with conventional TETRA-based systems. The key players in this market in the future will be those who successfully integrate the offerings of telecom equipment suppliers, telephony operators and innovation-driven start-ups. Thales intends to draw on this ecosystem to offer resilient, secure high-data-rate PMR solutions. The support of the COFIS committee for the security sector is key to positioning French industry at the forefront of these advances.”Marc Darmon, Executive Vice President, Secure Communications and Information Systems, Thales.

Transdev is a world leader in mobility, guiding and supporting local transport authorities from pre-project phase, to project support and development, to everyday operation of transport networks. The liberalization of long-distance passenger transport, as seen in France last year, is an important industry development that will improve mobility, complementing existing transportation services with new, more attractive mobility services.

Transit authorities such as Transdev are turning to the Internet of Things (IoT) to connect transit buses and support new applications that improve the passenger experience on-board. All of these capabilities are enabled by highly reliable, intelligent IoT solutions connected through public cellular networks.

QoS Telecom is a leading French WiFi operator for transit operating companies. QoS Telecom’s WiFi On Board solutions provide value-added services (location-based services, real-time marketing), custom login pages and a pooling solution with business applications (e.g. traveler information system, ticketing and video surveillance). Today, WiFi hotspots managed by QoS Telecom provide WiFi on-board services to more than three million people in Europe.

“WiFi On Board is a major asset for transit operators because it improves passenger satisfaction, and we’re pleased to provide the best on-board Internet experience for Transdev’s passengers,” said Jean-Luc Volcovici, CEO of QoS Telecom. “QoS Telecom provides a complete turnkey package, from feasibility study to day-to-day operations with the highest quality of service. We are also pleased with our long-standing relationship with Sierra Wireless. We’ve been integrating AirLink cellular gateways into many European deployments because they deliver rugged, reliable, leading-edge LTE performance designed for a vehicle environment.”

Sierra Wireless AirLink gateways can be deployed out-of-the-box with no programming requirements and are built with embedded intelligence to always stay connected. Customers rely on AirLink gateways every day in remote outdoor locations, in-vehicle applications, and distributed retail chains, where cellular gateways securely gather and transmit data to people, assets and enterprises. With solutions for a range of applications, including multi-network use cases, nearly two million Sierra Wireless gateways are deployed globally in transit, first responder vehicles and commercial fleets.

“Sierra Wireless AirLink LTE gateways are designed to make it easy for customers to deploy mobile networking solutions in many environments, including in-vehicle networking applications,” said Jason Krause, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Solutions, Sierra Wireless. “Managing a fleet of mobile gateways can be a challenging task. You need to maintain multiple configurations, update software, and remotely diagnose reported issues. With our cloud-based AirLink Management Service, customers can easily handle all of these tasks, while efficiently managing operating costs.”

Realm Pictures is a film production company based in the UK that has created a new genre of live interactive video game events.Their firstwas the Live First Person Shooter which they filmed in their studio grounds using local fixed line connectivity. When they went to filmthe second levelin a disused power station which had no fixed line connectivity available, they realized that they needed a different way to obtain reliable, high bandwidth, low latency Internet connectivity to make it work.

After searching for a solution that could use multiple 3G/4G LTE cellular connections they discovered Peplink SD-WAN technology, and contactedGrapevine Connect– a local Peplink Partner, to help.

Grapevine Connect has now worked on two productions with Realm Pictures – the latest being a series of real life interactive Hitman gamesfor Io Interactive, where multiple 3G/4G LTE connections were bonded at the location and connected over SpeedFusion VPN via a FusionHub virtual appliance in the cloud to the Internet. This not only gave Realm Pictures a high bandwidth, reliable, low latency Internet connection, but also allowed for inbound connections from the Internet to on location set pieces (like a remote controlled machine gun) providing a full interactive experience for the end users.

For Realm Pictures, Peplink SD-WAN enables them to consider bold exciting locations for new levels and future projects, safe in the knowledge that Grapevine Connect and Peplink SD-WAN will enable them to connect to their audience and players successfully – wherever in the world they may be.

“We didn’t have a single problem with the cellular – it was super robust, very impressive! [and] on a shoot like this [that is] utterly utterly vital.”-David Reynolds. Artistic Director, Realm Pictures.

The number of 4G mobile connections worldwide has surpassed the one billion mark and is on track to account for a third of all mobile connections by 2020, according to a new study by the GSMA. The 2016 global edition of the GSMA’s ‘Mobile Economy’ series of reports points to an accelerating technology shift to 3G/4G mobile broadband networks across both developed and developing markets, which is fuelling digital innovation, smartphone adoption and mobile data growth. The study calculates that the mobile industry made a $3.1 trillion contribution to the world economy last year, equivalent to 4.2 per cent of global GDP.

“Our new report reveals that mobile broadband is now a truly global phenomenon, extending high-speed connectivity and services to citizens in all corners of the world,” said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA. “The unprecedented growth in mobile broadband last year is testament to the billions of dollars that mobile operators have invested in next-generation networks, services and spectrum in recent years. Mobile is now the most ubiquitous platform for people and businesses to connect and innovate in today’s digital economy.”

4G accounted for one billion of the 7.3 billion mobile connections1 reached by the end of 2015. The number of 4G connections doubled in 2015, largely as a result of the increase in 4G network deployments in the developing world. At the end of the year there were 451 live 4G (LTE) networks available in 151 countries, with almost half of these in the developing world. 4G is forecast to account for around a third of the almost nine billion mobile connections expected by 2020. Mobile broadband networks (3G and 4G) accounted for 50 per cent of connections in 2015, a figure set to rise to 70 per cent by 2020.

The combination of increasing mobile broadband access and rising smartphone adoption is contributing to an explosion in mobile data usage. Smartphones accounted for 45 per cent of mobile connections in 2015 (up from just 8 per cent in 2010) and a further 2.6 billion smartphone connections are expected to be added over the next five years. Mobile data volumes are forecast to grow at a CAGR of 49 per cent over the next five years – a more than seven-fold increase – approaching 40 exabytes per month by 20202. This will be equivalent to a global average of 7 gigabytes per subscriber per month.

The number of unique mobile subscribers3 worldwide stood at 4.7 billion at the end of 2015, equivalent to 63 per cent of the world’s population. Unique subscribers are forecast to reach 5.6 billion by 2020, by which point more than 70 per cent of the global population are expected to have a mobile subscription. More than 90 per cent of subscriber growth over the next five years is forecast to come from developing world markets.

Mobile Contributing to GDP, Jobs and Public Funding
The global mobile industry added $3.1 trillion in economic value to the global economy in 2015, equivalent to 4.2 per cent of GDP4. This is predicted to rise to $3.7 trillion by 2020. The industry also directly and indirectly supported 32 million jobs in 2015 (forecast to rise to 36 million in 2020) and contributed $430 billion to public funding in the form of various types of taxation, a figure expected to grow to $480 billion in 2020 based on current levels of taxation. This public funding contribution excludes fees paid by operators for spectrum licences, which generated more than $90 billion for governments around the world last year as operators continued to acquire the spectrum they require to deploy mobile broadband.

The widespread availability of mobile networks is accelerating the ability to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. From improving access to vital services such as education, healthcare and financial services, to delivering smart agriculture and electricity management solutions, building resilient infrastructures or closing the gender gap, mobile technology is central in addressing a range of socio-economic development challenges. However, the report also notes the need for regulation to keep pace with rapid innovation.

“The fast pace of change means regulation can quickly become obsolete, irrelevant or, in some cases, harmful – distorting competition, slowing innovation and ultimately depriving consumers of the benefits of technological progress,” added Granryd. “Recognising these challenges, the mobile industry is calling on policymakers worldwide to adapt out-dated market regulations to reflect the new digital ecosystem.”

The new report ‘The Mobile Economy: 2016’ is authored by GSMA Intelligence, the research arm of the GSMA. To access the full report and related infographics please visit:http://gsmamobileeconomy.com/2016/global/.

The Connected Car is enhancing the in-car experience as IOT, 4G/LTE technologies become more widespread.

New ownership models like Zipcar will lead to significant price reductions stimulating market growth.

The Challenges of privacy and safety can be successfully adressed by the combined efforts of car manufacturers and the mobile communications industry.

The concept of “connected cars” is becoming commonplace in automotive sector with digital technology making inroads into the sector to enhance the “in-car” experience. Connected car is a vehicle which can optimize its own operation and maintenance thereby enhancing comfort, convenience, performance, safety and overall user experience. These cars consist of devices and technology that connect to other devices within the cars or outside of them and are able to connect to network or services outside the cars – facilitating real-time interconnectivity. Automotive digital technology for long has traditionally been focused on optimizing the vehicle’s internal functions with the application of computing technology, but now attention is shifting towards developing the car’s ability to connect with the elements outside the vehicle.

Car manufacturers and service providers are offering powerful network connectivity with the help of various devices such as sensors on varied platforms such as Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connectivity platform– to promote interconnectivity in between two connected cars. Whether it is through an integrated modem with 4G/LTE technology buried beneath the dash or a high speed connection to private cloud, manufacturers are integrating a myriad number of car connectivity features & functionalities to gain a competitive edge over others. AT&T Inc., an American multinational telecommunications corporation, is offering on select car models 4G LTE connectivity- considered to be most reliable & strongest network technology on the wheels so far. Connected cars are rolling as 4G Wi-Fi hotspots, with automobile manufacturers trying to include these in the standard features and price. With unlimited 4G LTE internet access on the go, users can stream content to other devices offering numerous entertainment and utility apps. Vinli, a maker of a connected car system, has recently revealed its plans to lure developers to its platform with a promotion that will give developers 1 billion free API (Application Program Interface) requests each month for five years totaling to 60 million free calls.

Safety and peace of mind are vital aspect that users of connected cars desire. As some industry experts correctly opine that the, actual experience of a “connected car” should extend outside the car. Automatic, a start-up firm, in an effort to enhance the experience of connected cars hopes to bring the automobile into the app age by launching APIs, SDKs for different connected car platforms. At least a dozen of partner companies have integrated their services into Automatic’s platform, which offer a host of functionalities that can help drivers track mileage expenses, automate routines based on their daily driving behavior. By 2020, integrated solutions are expected to occupy around 45% of the market share driven by consumer freedom of choice in customizing their connectivity devices and data plans.

With ample opportunities in connected car segment, the market is estimated to generate a revenue of $141 billion by the year 2020, pegged to grow at a CAGR of 32.7% during the forecast period (2014 – 2020) as per a recent report. The fact that the connected cars market has immense growth opportunities does not insulate it from market challenges in terms of dominant security and privacy concerns, which will hamper its rapid adoption. New car buyers have genuine concerns that their cars will be hacked and essential system such as brakes can be easily manipulated. What makes the connected cars open to such vulnerabilities? The difference in lifecycles in the automotive and the mobile industry creates gaps leading to serious challenge for the future of connected cars. New features, such as operating system upgrades and applications, essential for car connectivity can be provided constantly for the smartphone, whereas automobile manufacturers mostly work on five-year cycles. The gap can be addressed with the combined cooperation between automobile and mobile manufacturers. In fact, the key market players have already begun to address such concerns by entering into partnership and collaboration. For instance, Chrysler, for example, is partnering with Sprint Nextel to connect cars like the Dodge Viper … General Motors selected AT&T as its mobile partner, as revealed by Forbes. New ownership models, such as Zipcar’s, the world’s largest car sharing and car club service will further fuel the growth of the market. Such models portray a future where the vehicle you use knows who you are, who is in the car with you along with finely distributing the cost of ownership/usage seamlessly. Creating awareness among the end-users about the advanced connectivity functionalities is another significant factor to foster the adoption rate of the connected cars. Services such as the Internet of Things will offer new opportunities for connected cars market.

It would not be a market gimmick to say that in order to create a successful “connected” proposition in connected cars, it’s important to think in terms of the “connected driver” not the “connected car”. A different approach to connected cars which takes into account all aspects such as significant cost reduction, integration of various platforms and innovative ownership models, will boost the market growth.

EE today announced it has been selected by the Home Office to provide Britain’s Emergency Services with a resilient national mobile network, giving 300,000 critical emergency workers access to 4G voice and data for the first time.

The Government’s £1 billion Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) will ensure that Britain is a world leader in Emergency Services communications, and a 4G pioneer. EE already has the UK’s biggest and most mature 4G network, and will expand coverage and enhance resilience to meet the Emergency Services’ critical communications requirements.

The EE 4G network will significantly improve the efficiency of the Emergency Services by giving them access to the type of data and applications that have benefitted private businesses in recent years. Some of the applications that the new network will enable for Britain’s Emergency Services are:

An ambulance crew sending vital patient data on to the hospital to allow staff to make the best preparations for a patient’s arrival

A policeman recording an arrest on a body worn camera, and live-streaming to nearby officers for assessment and support

A fire and rescue crew assessing a burning building based on digital blue prints on tablets and live helicopter camera footage

EE CEO Olaf Swantee says:

“We are immensely proud to be selected to deliver this vital new network for Britain’s Emergency Services. We’ve worked closely with the Police and Ambulance crews to show the power of 4G in helping save time and save lives. We will now work tirelessly to deliver a highly resilient, truly nationwide 4G network to serve all of Britain’s Blue Light and First Responder teams across the UK.”

EE’s new 4G Emergency Services Network will replace the existing TETRA system from mid-2017 as current contracts expire.

EE has already committed to spend £1.5 billion on its network up to 2017, and will increase that investment in order to deliver the Emergency Services Network. Work to enhance and expand the EE network has already commenced in order to be ready in time for the first transitions, and existing consumer, business and public sector customers will benefit from this. The dedicated EE Emergency Services team will work closely with the current provider, Airwave, the Lot 2 service provider, Motorola, and Lot 1 delivery partner KBR, as well as all 300,000 end users to manage a smooth transition to the new 4G network.

In order to deliver the mission critical Emergency Services Network (ESN), EE will:

Sierra Wireless today announced the launch of the AirLink® Raven RV50 gateway—the LTE successor to the market’s most widely deployed cellular gateway solution for energy and industrial applications, the AirLink® Raven series.

The AirLink® Raven RV50 offers a truly rugged design and the lowest power consumption of any LTE industrial gateway, providing reliable connectivity for the most demanding remote applications, even when solar panels are the only available source of power.

“The Raven RV50 is an ideal migration path for customers to cost-effectively upgrade to LTE technology for their industrial IoT applications, while providing additional functionality to enable new solutions such as remote video surveillance,” said Jason Krause, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Solutions for Sierra Wireless. “The RV50 consumes the same low level of power as our 2G and 3G Raven gateways, so it can be installed directly into existing infrastructure without the need to increase capacity.”

Industrial infrastructure is often unmanned, remote, and critical to business operations. To ensure safety, security, and uninterrupted operation, a remote monitoring and control system is essential for applications such as SCADA, on pipelines and in power distribution, and intelligent traffic management systems. The AirLink Management Service (ALMS)—a cloud management solution ranked “best-in-class” by ABI Research—provides remote device management for the RV50, as well as alerting and monitoring of key variables such as signal strength, location, temperature and voltage.

Offering intelligence at the edge, the Raven RV50 includes the ALEOS Application Framework (AAF), a powerful embedded programming environment for on-board data gathering, real-time data processing and alert generation. The application framework also enables the delivery of critical real-time data and information, reliably and securely over LTE networks, to the Sierra Wireless IoT Acceleration Platform or to other software applications and operational systems.

The AirLink Raven RV50 is the first product of its kind to offer SIM-based network operator switching – just insert the SIM into the gateway and it automatically configures the new network settings. The RV50 ships as a single product variant that works on all major North American networks, simplifying the ordering and inventory process, and providing unmatched flexibility in managing deployments. Customers can take advantage of the best network coverage in remote areas without increasing complexity.

What customers and partners are saying:

“We tested the Raven RV50 to provide LTE, lower power connectivity for SCADALynx, and we were impressed by how quickly the Raven RV50 integrated with our software,” says Ryan McDonald, CIO of eLynx Technologies. “We’re also really excited about the network operator switching capability of the Raven RV50—it provides a new level of flexibility for our inventory and provisioning processes. We plan on standardizing the Raven RV50 as our primary cellular gateway—given its highly compatible management platform, performance features and reliability, we feel it is an ideal solution for our customers.”

“We tested the new AirLink Raven RV50 as a replacement for the Raven X, and found that it works flawlessly – we didn’t need to make any modifications to our software,” says Neil Hurst, Engineering Manager, Products of EDM International, Inc. “We are very pleased with this new product – in particular, its very fast boot-up time and low power consumption.”

“The Raven RV50 offers a huge jump in functionality at the same power consumption as the original AirLink Raven. Industrial customers in particular can now look at adding new functionality like video surveillance to their remote infrastructure, which improves their day-to-day management and the security of these remote assets,” said Mark Gianinni, CEO of Accel Networks.

Register for the Raven RV50 Webinar: 8:00 a.m. PST, November 19, 2015

Sierra Wireless will host an informational webinar about communications challenges in industrial environments and the new AirLink Raven RV50 gateway on Thursday, November 19 at 8:00 AM Pacific time. Topics will include typical industrial applications and use cases, the role of LTE in an industrial environment, and the importance of power consumption in industrial gateways.